Some poisons can be turned into Medicine
by FunahoMisaki
Summary: What if just after the Birds of a Feather case, Carmen meets with Ivy outside of a crime? Why? Well Ivy asked for the meeting. Carmen is a bit stunned at what the meeting is about but is interested in how things will play out. How will VILE and ACME handle what's happened? What about Zack? And what dirty skeletons are being hidden in ACME's closet that Ivy knows about? AU OOC M
1. Chapter 1

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and what if during the Birds of a Feather case Ivy manages to slip Carmen a note attached to her magnifying glass? What's in this mysterious note and why does Ivy want to go through with this plan? A fight with Zack may be the cause…or not. AU OOC)**

"I'm glad you were able to meet with me." Ivy said without looking up at the woman who sat down at the table across from her, Ivy perusing the menu at the moment.

"Well when you manage to attach a note to that magnifying glass asking if my offer was still on the table and if I would talk with you about it I was curious and a bit confused. The drawing of a wave helped me figure out that you meant my offer from the submarine." The smooth voice asked in return making Ivy glance up at the woman and take in her outfit.

"Nice shirt, matches your eyes even if it's strange to see you in something other than red." Ivy complimented as she noticed the icy blue shirt and the pair of jeans the woman was wearing, and her hair was up in a ponytail while her usual hat was missing.

"Thank you, your own outfit is a bit out of the ordinary for you though is it not?" Carmen asked in return as she smirked at Ivy who just shrugged. She was wearing a modest green tee-shirt with a cartoon character, a Pokemon one if Carmen wasn't mistaken, on the front and a pair of skinny jeans.

"My brother was being nosy about my 'date' that I didn't tell him about until a little while ago. He's so used to seeing me in my jacket and tank top he walked literally right past me about ten minutes ago." Ivy said earning a snort from Carmen. She had seen him wandering around while casing out the place earlier and had thought for sure that it was a trap but he just moved right along and left without preamble. Now she knew why.

"Not the most perceptive is he?" Carmen asked although she frowned a bit. Zack wasn't able to recognize his own sister unless she was wearing her usual outfit? That was a bit…well…sad.

"You have no idea. Shall we order? Since I asked for this meeting then lunch is on me." Ivy offered as the waitress who had been eyeing them both for a minute, and Ivy for a little while longer, approached them.

"I'm never one to turn down a free meal." Carmen said with a smirk since she had noticed the waitress as well.

"What can I get you ladies to drink and eat today?" The waitress asked without wasting time as she approached the two, eyeing them curiously but not saying anything.

"Water with lemon, and the large Grilled Chicken salad with no cheese or tomatoes if you don't mind. Ranch dressing will be fine." Carmen said when Ivy motioned for her to order first, glancing at the menu quickly.

"Alright and for you babe?" The woman asked eyeing Ivy appreciatively since her shirt showed her trim and toned muscles.

"Water with lemon for me as well. Grilled pork chop, salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette, Lima Beans over Rice and I'll have the desert today as well. Do you think I can get a second Grilled Pork Chop as well to go with that?" Ivy asked with a smirk on her face, making Carmen and the waitress both look at her surprised for the…well…rather large order.

"Are you sure you can eat all that? Those pork chops are nothing small and you're not that big." The waitress asked staring at Ivy who smirked slightly wider at that and rested her chin on one hand, her arm propped up on the table.

"Oh I guarantee you when I want to I can eat a lot. I have a very… _different_ appetite than most." Ivy drawled out the words as she gave the waitress a once over, making the dark haired woman that was only about twenty at the most blush slightly and stutter. Carmen watched in disbelief as Ivy gave the woman a look that had the poor woman blushing brighter as she shakily wrote down the order and then turned and practically fled to the kitchen.

"Well that was my fun for the hour." Ivy said with a grin as she looked back at Carmen, hearing a couple of laughs come from the kitchen.

"You made that woman blush as red as my fedora and nearly run from the table." Carmen said dryly and earning a hum from Ivy.

"Yeah she's new here. She's not used to me yet. Maybe I should have taken it easy on her." Ivy said causing Carmen to stare at her for a moment before a grinning woman with blond hair that had brown streaks in it walked over with two glasses of water with lemons in them.

"Ivy are you tormenting the new girl?" The blond asked as she set down the water on the table in front of the two women, holding out some straws in offering.

"Oh come on Jen. You know I have to have my fun with the fresh blood whenever they come in and I have the time off. Did you not warn this one about me or did she not believe you?" Ivy asked grinning back and earning a snort from the other waitress, this one a grey haired woman that was rather short.

"I tried to warn her but since you haven't been around in the last two months since she's started working she didn't believe me. Where have you been anyways Ivy?" The woman asked looking at Ivy who shrugged a bit.

"Oh traveling around here and there for work. Been busy recently." Ivy said casually avoiding most of the question while making it look like she answered it.

"So who's your friend? You almost never bring other people here." The one Ivy called Jen asked looking at Carmen who blinked slightly. So picking this place was a show of trust on Ivy's part?

Taking Carmen to one of the places where she seemed to be a regular but never took other people. Interesting.

Perhaps Ivy's request was truthful after all.

"My name is Trista. Ivy met me on one of her most recent cases and since I was in the country she invited me out for lunch." Carmen said smoothly slipping a Spanish accent into her voice as she used one of her aliases for when she was in Spain.

"Well your food should be done soon. Just wave us down if you need anything hun." The older woman said as some more customers walked in.

"Will do." Ivy said waving the two off with a smile as they smiled back and then went to take care of the other customers.

"So then. Shall we get down to business?" Carmen asked folding her hands in front of her on the table while Ivy stuck her straw in her glass.

"I thought my message was straight forward enough while still being cryptic." Ivy asked before taking a sip of her drink while Carmen watched her curiously and sort of surprised.

"Hmm. I can infer as to why you would ask about my offer…but to be truthful I'm a bit surprised that you would. I never thought you'd take me up on it." Carmen said humming slightly and making Ivy frown as she stared at her glass.

"Let's just say…I got tired of the way things were going…and I don't mean the chase and all. That's the fun part. I got tired of everything else." Ivy said her voice quiet as she stared at Carmen who stared back.

"And your brother?" Carmen asked raising an eyebrow and earning a snort from Ivy.

"Zack's a big boy now. He doesn't need me to hold his hand, hell he's probably better equipped to handle any assignment than I am given that he's fluent in like eight languages." Ivy said waving it off and making Carmen look at her suspiciously.

"And you don't know any other language?" Carmen asked earning a snort from Ivy.

"Oh please. I recently graduated from a high school where learning at least two other languages was _required_. I'm fluent in Sign Language and Spanish. Know most of the basic French phrases and stuff too. Any other language…well I know curse words." Ivy said with a shrug of her shoulders at the end.

"So you can understand sign language and Spanish, and basic French…how many languages can you curse in however?" Carmen asked a bit more curious than she should be about that part.

"Fourteen different languages, counting Spanish, French, and English." Ivy said with a grin, she could curse out pretty much everyone in the world in their own language. It's made some assignment's she's had without her brother or another translator fun for sure.

"Impressive even if they _are_ just swear words. However if you do go through with this you will be learning more languages." Carmen said making Ivy shrug her shoulders.

"That's fine with me. It'd be nice to be something other than the brainless brute." Ivy said sounding self-deprecating in the last few words before she abruptly turned her head out the window to watch the people on the street for a minute. Carmen filed that away for later investigation.

"You know you will be tested and all. You're a detective…if you go through with this none of the others will trust you until you prove yourself." Carmen warned the young adult who just shrugged again.

"I'm used to that. Honestly if you're trying to get me to change my mind it's not going to work. I'm very stubborn once I decide to do something." Ivy said looking amused.

"Very well. If that's what you decide then I'll allow it. It'd be interesting to see how things turn out." Carmen said watching curiously as the girl played with her straw, although she noticed that Ivy was being much more cautious now than she was during a crime. Her eyes were roaming everywhere every few seconds, and even when she was looking at Carmen the master thief knew that her favorite detective was still acutely aware of everything that was going on around her.

"So then that means…" Ivy trailed off looking at Carmen who smiled a bit and nodded her head.

Leaning back into her chair Carmen said one thing before taking a long drink from her glass.

"Welcome to VILE Ivy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"You really _do_ have a big appetite." Carmen said surprised as Ivy demolished her rather large pork chop in no time, the second one on its way.

"Oh this is nothing. One time she ate three whole plates by herself, although to be fair she _had_ just finished winning a MMA tournament." The lady who apparently ran the drive-thru said as she set the second pork chop down on the table.

"Mixed Martial Arts? Here I thought you only knew karate." Carmen said raising an eyebrow although she did frown a bit. She hadn't paid a lot of attention to the girls fighting style, only that she had a black belt. That remark caused the regulars nearby, all of whom had greeted Ivy by name as soon as they sat down, to snicker or snort.

"The girl has five black belts at last count, and I stopped counting six years ago. Y'all enjoy." The drive-thru lady said with a snort of her own before she went back to work.

"Come to think of it you have another, bigger, tournament coming up soon don't you?" One older man that Ivy called Rickey asked looking at the red head who nodded.

"Yeah since I won the district tournament three times in a row they're upgrading me to the state tournament. Qualifying rounds are tomorrow actually. Not sure if I'll do it though." Ivy said with a shrug of her shoulders at the end.

"Go for it. I have some spare time to come and watch and I'm quite interested in seeing what you can do in a fight." Carmen said watching Ivy and noticing the surprise flicker on the girls face for a brief moment.

"She can completely destroy someone is what she can do." The woman with Rickey, Linda apparently, said with a snicker while Ivy gave a sheepish smile.

"That about sums it up really." Ivy said with a rather guilty smile on her face although her eyes weren't in it. Carmen frowned as she looked at her new little protégé.

"Hm. Well if you're going to be working for me you do realize I need to know your capabilities and skills correct? I believe this tournament will be an interesting way to see just how…capable you are." Carmen said eyeing the red haired teen who just nodded her head and proceeded to demolish her second pork chop.

"Oh? A new job? What kind of work will she be doing?" Jen asked overhearing this as she delivered plates to the table next to them.

"Bodyguard mostly. There are plenty of people who would wish me harm, and she is quite capable of protecting me I'm sure. Of course seeing how she does in a state wide MMA tournament will only help alieve any worries my… associates will have of her strength and prowess." Carmen said smoothly and making Ivy raise an eyebrow at her.

"I toss around some of your bigger co-workers like they're toys. You really think any of them will doubt my abilities?" Ivy asked earning a smirk from Carmen who shrugged slightly.

"I have it on good authority that Dara will be in the state tournament this time as well. If you managed to make it to where you can fight her and win, you'll have most all of my employees and associates convinced of your prowess even if you don't _look_ very strong." Carmen said making Ivy give a small rather dark smirk that had a shiver of warning going down Carmen's spine. Or…well… _she_ thought it was a shiver of warning.

"Looks are very deceiving." Ivy said with a slight purr to her words, making Carmen stare at her for a moment before the criminal lowered her gaze to her salad.

"True as that may be my point still stands. While you _are_ technically my body guard as of now, make a good showing in the tournament and none of the others will doubt you." Carmen said not glancing up at Ivy who shrugged her shoulders and started on the fruit bowl that was apparently today's desert.

"And if I win the whole thing?" Ivy asked without pause, making Carmen look up at her sharply.

"You seem sure that you will." Carmen noted as she looked at the unbothered red head.

"I collect black belts like some people collect stamps and I'm a lot tougher than I look. The best part about seeming so scrawny, means that everyone underestimates my actual ability and strength." Ivy said with a small secretive smile while Jen snorted slightly.

"Girl if the stories I heard have _any_ truth to them, then you have black belts in styles most people forgot existed. Not to mention some of the non-official or non-regulated styles of fighting." Jen said with a grin towards Ivy who grinned back.

"Hey, it's a better way to protect myself and others. Certainly came in handy more than once." Ivy said making a few of the regulars snorted, seemingly recalling some memory or another.

"The qualifying matches will take at least a week until there's only sixteen contenders left. Once the final sixteen are established we'll be put into brackets and faced off against one another in public and likely over television. That's what my sensei told me after I got the invite at least. I can secure tickets for you and some of your co-workers to come and 'evaluate' my ability during the matches once I make it to the top sixteen." Ivy said looking at Carmen who gave a small smirk at this.

"I'd quite like to see this. Not to mention I'd be going anyways since Dara is in the matchups." Carmen said nodding and making Ivy smirk back as she finished off the last of her food.

"Don't forget that if you need sponsoring then I don't mind throwing my lot in with you." The old waitress who was apparently the owner of the restaurant said casually as she looked at the red head, having walked over just in time to hear about the television part.

"I'll make sure that I have your logo and advertisement on my side of the ring when I go in for the finals." Ivy said nodding to the woman who grinned at that.

"Just make sure you make plenty of bets on me winning…because losing isn't in my dictionary." Ivy said earning nods from a few of the regulars around her.

"Not to mention that when you get really into the fight then you're downright _brutal_. During your last district contest one girl tried an illegal move that would have likely broken your neck." Rickey said making the others wince slightly at seemingly recalling that matchup.

"I may have overreacted slightly but it was reflex against a potentially lethal move!" Ivy said causing a few of the regulars that had seen the match to give her flat or disbelieving looks.

Carmen was the one staring at the red head in disbelief at Linda's incredulous words.

She'd have to warn Dara to stay away from potentially crippling or lethal moves.

"You snapped her arm in two and broke four of her ribs with one kick!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

It was two weeks later that the top sixteen of the MMA for San Francisco met up for their matches in front of a crowd and television cameras. It would only be local TV but that was still more than what most of them were used to.

Ivy was in the girls locker room getting ready since she was up first against some guy named Seth.

Carmen, Sara Bellum, Hannah Lulu, and Al Loy were in the stands waiting for the match to begin. Dara Risk on the other hand was in the girls locker room as well since her match was right after Ivy's despite being in the other bracket.

"Hey Red." Dara called to Ivy before the red head left to take her place to enter the ring.

"Don't lose to anyone but me got it? I want the two of us to duke it out and see who's stronger." Dara said making Ivy snort and smile slightly at the muscle woman. Ever since the rest of VILE was told by their boss that the red haired detective was going to be joining them, they had all taken the time to meet up with the girl discreetly and see if she was for real or not.

So far Sara, Hannah, and Al all agreed that she was serious about leaving ACME and joining their group. Dara claimed she was reserving judgement until she could have a one on one match up with the girl.

"I could tell you the same thing." Ivy said before she left the room and made her way to the ring.

Since there were five matches for each bracket until the final match they weren't doing anything special for the fighters. Not until it got down to the last two matches for each bracket at least.

For now they were just doing their names, height, and weight unless one of the fighters had been in this tournament before and had earned a 'title'. The newcomers like Ivy would have titles made up for them or given to them in the semi-finals of the bracket if they made it that far. Theme songs only came in for the finals of both brackets and then the last match.

"In this corner we have a newcomer with an impressive record! Standing at five foot six, weighing only one hundred and twenty seven pounds, is Ivy!" The referee said announcing Ivy as she entered the ring, earning loud cheers from those who had seen her fight before and the few ACME agents in the crowd. The ones there were Jasmine, Joshua, Zack, and Tatyanna. The others had all bugged out saying that fighting things weren't their scene or they had other missions and things to do today so they couldn't make it.

"And in this corner we have the previous runner up! Standing at six foot three inches tall, weighing two hundred and thirty four pounds, it's SETH THE STOMPER!" The referee said making Ivy roll her eyes as the tall man, must have been at least twenty two or so, strutted like a peacock into the ring and soaked up the loud cheers and applause from the crowd.

"Sorry cutie. Looks like you got some bad luck being matched up against me right from the get go. How about I take you out for lunch later…if you don't have a concussion that is?" Seth asked winking at Ivy who gave him a flat look.

"Bad luck? Sorry, my brother is the superstitious one. Not me." Ivy said making the man smirk at her.

"I didn't hear a no there doll." Seth said just as the referee started the match.

"Uh-oh." Zack said seeing his sisters face go completely stone like in an instant.

"What?" Joshua asked while glaring at Seth as he approached Ivy looking a bit cocky and as if he had already won the fight.

"If there's one thing you should never do…it's call Ivy 'doll'." Zack said wincing when his sister caught the large fist heading for her head in one tiny by comparison hand.

"What?" Seth was shocked by how easily the smaller fighter caught his fist, but recovered quickly as he moved to kick her in the leg.

Ivy stunned the entire crowd silent when she jumped up over his leg, using her grip on his fist to pull vault herself up onto the bigger man's shoulders. Wrapping her legs around his neck from behind Ivy leaned backwards far enough to throw Seth off balance.

Flipping onto her hands as they fell, Ivy tensed her arms and legs and used her momentum to slam Seth into the ring matt in a vicious Pile Driver move.

"Don't." Ivy growled as she twisted her legs that were still wrapped around Seth's neck into a standard lock.

"Call me doll." Ivy growled as the ref pulled her off of Seth, showing that the former runner up had been knocked out some time during either the Pile Driver or the leg lock.

"Winner by knockout! Ivy!" The referee announced after trying to wake Seth for a few seconds.

"Yebena mat." Tatyanna breathed out wide eyed.

"What did she say?" Joshua asked looking at Tatyanna confused.

"Holy shit." Jasmine said although she probably didn't even hear the question as the audience snapped out of its shock and _roared_ in applause.

"I didn't know you speak Russian." Zack said looking at Jasmine surprised while some paramedics had to come take Seth away. Apparently Ivy gave him a concussion...at the least.

"What?" Jasmine asked looking at Zack confused as she snapped out of her shock.

"Note to self. Never call or refer to her as a doll." Sara said wide eyed along with the other VILE workers in the crowd, earning nods from each of them.

"That looked like something straight out of a movie." Al said staring wide eyed, Hannah not paying them much if any attention as she cheered for Ivy's win.

"I dare say that this will be a most interesting tournament." Carmen said raising an eyebrow at the move Ivy used but not showing any outwards display of shock or surprise. Inwardly she was kind of jealous she never learned how to pull off a move like that.

"If she keeps pulling off moves like that this will be a complete shut out until she and Dara fight." Sara said while Hannah was grinning as the next fight began, Dara against some guy named John.

Hannah's response had the others gaping at the alarm expert in disbelief and mild shock. She didn't seem the type after all.

"I love this assignment! I wonder if we can make MMA fighting a company event?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"Alright it's time for the match you've all been waiting for!" The referee announced as the finals match was about to begin. The VILE and ACME agents were on the edges of their seats.

It was Dara versus Ivy.

"In the red corner the woman as strong as any man! The She-Hulk herself! It's DARA THE DESTROYER!" The announcer yelled as Dara entered her corner, the speakers blaring 'Go To Sleep' as she ran in and struck some poses for the crowd.

Carmen made a mental note to keep that song far away from Patty's ears.

"And in the blue corner we have the pretty face that could break a wall! The deceiver! It's IVY OLEANDER!" The announcer cried out as Ivy walked to her corner, pausing briefly to smile and ruffle the hair of one little girl who was leaning out towards her for a high-five. Carmen noted the way the girl, who could be any old than ten, squealed and _beamed_ up at Ivy who winked and moved on. Over the speakers the song 'Know that you're Alive' was blaring causing Carmen to frown slightly.

"Right now you're bruised and bleeding. I see the look within your eyes. I know your pain is for a reason. You need to feel just to know that you're alive." Sara was singing along to the song, causing the others to stare at her surprised or thoughtful in Carmen's case.

"What? I can like other things too." Sara said defensively when she noticed them all staring at her, causing Hannah to snicker a bit while Al just turned away as fast as he could.

Sara scared him almost as much if not more than Carmen.

"Alright ladies. Shake hands. Any questions before we start?" The referee asked looking at the two who were staring at each other with a grin on Dara's face and a smile on Ivy's.

"Yeah what's up with the Oleander title? Sounds like a flower." Dara asked making Ivy smile wider.

"It _is_ a flower, a very deadly one. Nerium Oleander is a small shrub or tree from the dogbane family Apocynaceae, with the classification of Genus." Ivy said rattling off the scientific name and classification without batting an eye.

"Deadly flower?" Dara asked raising an eyebrow at Ivy and earning a nod.

"Oleander is one of the most toxic, commonly grown garden plants in the world — and oddly enough, it's often found in schoolyards. Ingesting any part of this plant can be deadly, especially for children. Even smoke from burning oleander can be fatal. The plant's use as a poison _is_ well-known however. Oleander is reportedly a favorite suicide agent in Sri Lanka, where oleander poisonings exceed 150 per 100,000 people each year. About 10 percent of those cases are fatal." Ivy said causing a few jaws to drop open at how easily she stated those facts.

"How do you know this?" The referee asked looking at Ivy surprised and earning a snort.

"I'm a _detective_. You think I haven't had to work suicide cases, accidental deaths, and even a few murders caused by deadly plants? Considering there was a case just last month where a six year old ate some Oleander leaves on a dare at his school I'm surprised more people _don't_ know." Ivy said making Dara wince at that, as had a few others. **(A/N: This is actually true, despite being fatal especially to children Oleander is grown and planted in plenty of school yards where the children won't know any better.)**

"I didn't know Ivy worked those kinds of cases before." Sara murmured making Carmen frown slightly as she surveyed the red head.

"She's a senior detective by ACME's standards. We've all had to work cases like those before we got to that rank." Carmen said sadly and a bit upset. She had known in the back of her mind that the girl had worked cases like those before, but it was another thing to have it brought out into the open and acknowledged.

"Looks like her brother didn't know." Hannah said looking at Zack who had a horrified look on his face, the two female detectives on either side of him just seemed uncomfortable. The boy that Carmen knew was in the technology department of ACME was just staring at Ivy with a look in his eyes that alarmed the thief. It was a possessive yearning look.

"Sara. Al." Carmen's voice was cold as she watched the boy who kept his eyes glued to Ivy as she and Dara began to dance around each other and exchange a few punches to test each others reaction speeds.

"Boss?" Al asked looking at the shorter woman while Sara made an acknowledging hum.

"That boy over there with the three detectives, the techie. Keep a close eye on him." Carmen ordered making the two look at her and follow where she was looking to see the tanned boy that was near drooling as he stared at Ivy.

"Looks like someone has a crush on the red head." Sara said with a snort although her own eyes narrowed as she noticed just how focused, _'Obsessed'_ her mind supplied, he seemed on the newest VILE agent.

"There's something off about him. Don't let him near Ivy without at least one or two of us present." Carmen ordered making the three with her exchange looks but nod their heads.

"You got it boss." Al said nodding his head.

"Now that it's been two minutes we have a surprise for everyone!" The referee said earning murmurs from the crowd and confused looks from the two fighters.

"Did you know about any kind of surprise?" Dara asked the red head who shook her head in the negative.

"They haven't mentioned anything to me." Ivy said as the referee signaled something to somebody outside of the ring.

"This is going to be…" Here a large metal cage was lowered over the ring, trapping those within.

"A CAGE FIGHT!" The referee yelled earning cheers and whoops and hollers from the crowd. Carmen however frowned heavily. Her senses were screaming at her.

Something was wrong here. Something was about to happen and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Looking around for any traps or tricks or other detectives and police, Carmen noticed no one. There were only the few security agents and the four ACME teens that were across the room. No one was even looking at the four criminals in the stands.

Spotting the techie boy that gave her a bad feeling earlier looking nervous and pale however Carmen followed his line of sights back to the ring. Carmens entire body tensed as she noticed what had him so nervous.

The referee was sweating heavily despite not having moved since the cage came down, and Dara was looking wary and nervous herself. Looking at what they were staring at…Carmen couldn't blame them.

Ivy's face was completely blank like a robot or statue and she had this doll like smile on her face with blank empty eyes. Carmen felt a shiver go down her spine, and yet this one she could identify as being of terror. Strange…it felt different from the shiver she had gotten when she had seen Ivy's dark twisted smirk for the first time.

The kind of look on Ivy's face was one that was going to haunt Carmen for weeks.

Because Carmen _recognized that kind of look._


	5. Chapter 5

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"We have to get her out of there." Carmen's palms were sweaty and she was trying her best to keep her breathing steady.

Ivy looked like a doll. A small plastic smile on her face, a pair of glassy green orbs, no movements at all. But that would change soon. Carmen knew it would change any second now.

"Boss?" Al asked surprised at the veiled panic in his boss's voice.

"She's not there. She's in a flashback or something and this won't end well." Carmen said swallowing heavily as she stood up and began to move towards the caged in ring.

"Oh fuck." Sara breathed out seeing the look in Ivy's eyes just as Carmen had.

"How are we going to do this?" Hannah asked looking confused and alarmed but always willing to follow Carmen's lead.

"Well…I'm Carmen Sandeigo. A world renowned thief. How about we just steal it?" Carmen asked keeping her eyes locked on Ivy who was not responding to Dara asking if she was alright.

"This should have them in a tizzy." Sara said dryly but she was already thinking of what different things she could summon via remote from her nearest lab to help and what things she could make to help with what she had right off hand.

"Especially since we're going to say screw subtility before she hurts or even kills Dara." Carmen agreed as she vanished to change into her iconic outfit, being back in just a few seconds.

"Al…think you can lift it and carry it outside or to an empty spot where we could put it?" Carmen asked the strong man who looked at the cage for a moment and then nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I won't be able to move very fast but I can do it." Al said as he stood and began making his way down to the ring side seats.

"Good when I distract them, just grab it and started getting out of here. Hannah if Ivy attacks before I get that cage off of her I want you to be on standby to pull her out of the ring. Sara be ready for an emergency escape and possible hospital trip." Carmen ordered making the others nod their heads as they slowly carefully got into position while she moved towards a nearby wall and made sure no one was looking at her.

About half a minute later, Sara and Hannah made their way close to the ring at the side where Dara was eyeing Ivy and nervously approaching. Al was already ready to jump over the rope and grab the cage.

Now all they had to do was wait for Carmen's signal.

"Well isn't this quite the interesting day? I never thought I'd see Ivy in a MMA tournament where the officials are apparently complete idiots." Carmen said her voice mocking and scathing all at once as she dropped down from the rafter and landed on top of the cage.

"Carmen?" Dara asked alarmed and surprised at her boss's action as she glanced up at the woman startled, although Ivy didn't move a muscle yet.

"What are you- SECURITY!" The referee yelled causing Carmen to tut slightly as the crowd began to murmur about her appearance out of nowhere, the ACME agents standing up and moving to grab her.

"Dara. Don't make any hostile moves towards Ivy at the moment. She's not there." Carmen said making Dara frown up at her boss confused but look at Ivy. Sure there was something unsettling about the girl right now but for Carmen to warn her not to try something?

"I'm not scared of her." Dara said although her voice trembled just a little bit as she moved towards Ivy again, her face set into a scowl.

"No Dara!" Carmen yelled just a second too late, her eyes widening as she apparently got _too_ close to Ivy. Dara didn't even see the younger woman move before she was kicked away hard enough to crash into the cage hard enough to make it shake. The referee gulped audibly as he looked at the knocked out woman and stuttered out about Ivy being the winner but no one cheered.

They were all either staring at Ivy shocked or at Carmen. A few were even looking horrified and worried about Dara.

"Al!" Carmen called out for the henchman who leapt over the rope separating the audience from the ring and grabbed the cage. Giving a grunt of effort, Al lifted it up and up and up as Carmen jumped from the top of the cage and landed perfectly inside of the ring next to the referee who was ashen white at the display of strength from the blond man.

"You idiots should have known to ask a detective if they had any triggers. The cage sent her into a flashback." Carmen said her voice ice cold as she talked to the referee who was sweating as Ivy's blank gaze settled on him and Carmen.

"Hannah! Sara! Get Dara out of here!" Carmen called without moving her gaze from Ivy who still wasn't completely there.

"Don't get killed." Sara said making Carmen snort slightly as the two of them grabbed the downed and just now coming around woman and moved her as gently as they could from the ring. If there was one thing you could say about Sara, it was that nothing kept her down for long and she was sturdy as all hell.

"I made it this long." Carmen said without looking away from Ivy. If she did then there was a high chance that the girl would attack her.

"And I still don't know how." Sara said with a snort of her own as she worriedly began to examine her co-worker.

"Ivy…look Ivy the cage is gone. Whatever you're seeing it's not there. It's not real anymore." Carmen's voice was surprisingly gentle as she stepped just a little closer to the girl whose entire body was relaxed. That didn't fool Carmen though.

The girl knew several martial arts styles and if her body was relaxed then she could slip into any single one of them in an instant.

"Ivy it's Carmen. Whatever demons or monsters you're seeing right now aren't real. They're all in your head. In the past." Carmen's voice stayed gentle even as she heard the muffled thump of Al setting down the cage quickly over the ACME detectives that were rushing towards them. Hannah and Sara were still trying to see how bad off Dara was.

Carmen's sharp gaze noticed how the thump earned a reaction from Ivy but not a good one.

"Ivy. It's alright. Remember? You're at the MMA tournament. You were fighting with Dara and we learned how stupid officials could be. You're in the middle of a flashback and we need you to come back to your senses now." Carmen said her voice gentle as she took another step towards Ivy, a slow carefully measured step to see how close she could get.

"Carmen what are you doing to my sister?!" Zack yelled from in the cage making Ivy flinch backwards a bit, which Carmen noticed.

"Zack. Shut up." Carmen said without looking away from the red head.

"Ivy. Ivy it's alright." Carmen gently resumed trying to sooth the red head and bring her back around.

"See? No weapon or anything, you know I don't like guns or anything anyways." Carmen said raising her hands to show that they were empty, but this seemed to be the wrong thing to do.

In an instant, almost too fast for Carmen to realize what was happening, Ivy was almost on top of her.

Carmen swore as she leaned back just enough to avoid the kick aimed at her chest and then her arms were up and she began to deflect the rapid fire fists of fury aimed at her. She saw what one kick had done to Dara who was much more durable against most physical attacks than Carmen was.

"Ivy calm down! It's me Carmen! I don't want to have to hurt you." Carmen said earning a snort from the ACME boy who gave her a bad feeling earlier.

"Like you could." The boy called to her with a smirk on his face as he grabbed the bars of the cage.

Carmen let out quite a few swears in quite a few languages as the boy called out something that had Ivy being much more vicious.

Carmen was confused however when Ivy seemed to be more focused on attacking the _boy_ than she was on attacking _Carmen._

"Ares! Destroy your enemy!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"Sara have you run the scan yet?" Carmen asked looking at her scientist who looked haunted as she held a folder in her hands. It had been a few hours since Ivy had tried to kill the boy Joshua only to be knocked out by an electric shock from Sara.

 _"We're stealing her away until you can learn to play nice." Carmen had told the other detectives on the scene as she easily scooped the unconscious detective into her arms. She had been startled at just how light the girl was._

 _"Carmen give me my sister! Ivy!" Zack had called out for his sister and the thief had felt bad for how worried he'd be for all of ten seconds until she recalled how he didn't even recognize her outside of her normal outfit_.

"I'm going to destroy ACME." Sara said bringing Carmen back to the present and making the thief tense as she noticed the look in her friends eyes. She had seen too much in too short of a time.

"Let me see." Carmen said holding a hand out for the folder and causing Sara to slowly hand it over. Looking at just the first page Carmen's face went stony and cold as she stared at the papers.

"Who did this to her?" Carmen growled out as she clenched the papers so tight that they could rip any second now. Multiple burns and scars from knives and guns and whips and what looked like surgical scars. That wasn't even the worst of it.

"Whoever did it messed with her genetic makeup over a prolonged length of time. This seems to have started years ago, the oldest of the scars that I could exam with the machine puts her at thirteen when this all started." Sara said her voice a dark hiss and earning a horrified look from her boss.

"Who could do this to a thirteen year old? When was the most recent one?" Carmen asked her voice catching slightly as she stared St the papers in horror.

"The day before she joined V.I.L.E." Sara said her voice a near whisper as she blinked back tears.

"That's what she meant. When she said she was tired of everything else." Carmen said in realization and earning a grimace from the scientist.

"If she's had to suffer this through the last four years then I wouldn't blame her. I've heard of POW survivors who don't have scars and damage like hers." Sara said earning a nod of agreement from Carmen who was still reading the report of the wounds.

"And you believe that ACME did it." Carmen said her eyes not leaving the report, even though she flinched at certain parts. Sara knew which parts she was flinching at, and she could tell when Carmen reached the end of the report because her hands began shaking and her eyes watered.

"Forceful sterilization?" Carmen whispered earning a flinch from Sara who nodded.

"Took her uterus out and they weren't gentle or clean about it. I'm amazed she didn't develop an infection yet or suffer worse from the loss of the organ. Carmen… that only happened a few days ago and yet there's no traces of any painkillers or anesthesia in her system. They did it while she was fully able to feel it." Sara said her voice a near whisper as she blinked back tears. She felt depressed for the girl, she was only seventeen!

"I also checked her records. She hasn't been to the hospital ever since she was ten and that had been for a fractured arm and several broken ribs. These things happened to her over a course of years starting at the around the age of thirteen. The only place where this could have been happening without someone noticing was at ACME." Sara said as Carmen handed the papers over before she ripped them by accident.

"Hannah get me Manny. I have a job for him that I want done four years ago." Carmen said spotting the security expert lingering outside of the doorway worried about the fighter in the med-bay. The alarm expert was far from the only one lingering out of the doorway but she was the closest to the door.

"Yes ma'am." Hannah said taking off and going to find the computer expert of their group.

"I have her on a sedative at the moment in case she's still hostile, but she is getting taken off of it in an hour. She should wake up by tomorrow hopefully but with these alterations to her blood I'm not sure what all will affect her." Sara said making Carmen nod slightly in understanding.

"Is she in any danger or pain?" Carmen asked worriedly and earning a helpless shrug from the genius scientist.

"The sedative is a light one, to keep her under and from feeling pain for a while at least. It shouldn't affect her negatively in the least." Sara said earning a sigh of relief from the master thief.

"You asked for me Carmen?" Manny asked as he was nearly shoved into the room by Hannah.

"Hack the ACME files. Search for everything you can get on Ivy and someone called Ares. When that obsessed techie called her Ares and gave her an order she got worse. I want to know why he referred to her as Ares and anything to do with her and her history at ACME. I want to know four years ago." Carmen ordered her voice surprisingly cold as she glared at nothing over Manny's head but it looked like she was glaring at him, making Manny pale and tremble.

"Yes Carmen." Manny said timidly before taking off for his computer.

"You think they'll keep her files on the computer when it's been proven that you could get into it without much effort?" Sara asked looking at her boss who frowned harder at that point.

"Probably not but they may have the hard copy files of it at their HQ or one of their bases that could be implied in her file. We find out where it is, Hannah will disable the alarms and I'll steal the hard copies. Dara and Al will cause a big distraction to keep ACME off of our trails while I do it." Carmen said her voice determined and earning a nod from Sara.

Sara was understanding and stern.

"Good bring those files to me when you get them. I need more information to help her better."


	7. Chapter 7

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"Carmen! Where's Ivy?" Zack yelled as he chased the thief a few days later, Tatyanna and Jasmine chasing her as well.

"I set her free." Carmen said looking unbothered as the three detectives cornered her on a roof top after chasing her from the room of the large party she had been attending. Carmen still hadn't gotten hold of the girls hard copy files and Manny had said there had been extremely heavy traps and codes and all sorts of nasty bugs on the girls files to keep them from being hacked into.

"End of the line Carmen!" Tatyanna said only for Carmen to chuckle slightly.

"Not just yet. After all there's someone I want you to meet." Carmen said as another person jumped up on the roof, this one a woman as well that nearly blended in with the shadows.

"Who are you?" Zack asked staring at the woman who was wearing a tight black dress that showed several prominent scars on her shoulders and back. The woman had blood red hair done up in a small braid, jade green eyes that stared at them coldly from behind a simple black shimmery fabric over the top of her face and lightly tanned skin that was set off by the pearl earrings and the solitary pearl hanging around her scarred collar bone and neck. She looked familiar but they couldn't put their fingers on it.

"This is the newest member of VILE. Although I'm disappointed that you three wouldn't recognize her. Especially you Zachary." Carmen said looking honestly disappointed in the three as they exchanged confused looks at that. It was true that the woman did look familiar but they never recalled seeing anyone covered in scars like this woman was.

"I'm the Ram." The red head said her voice tickling their minds as if to bring up memories or possible identification but the three looked confused.

"The Ram?" Jasmine asked confused, what the heck kind of name or title was that? Seriously at least most of Carmen's group had what they did hinted at by their names such as Al Loy being an expert with metal and Sara Bellum being a scientist. What would someone called 'Ram' do? Steal sheep?

"Yes the Ram. The Ram of Aries." The woman said her voice a bit scratchy but still familiar. But why couldn't they put their fingers on it? It was just on the tip of their tongues but the only person they could think of was missing in action and would never work for Carmen.

"What do you want then oh Ram of Aries?" Zack asked sarcastically as he stared at the woman who reminded him of his sister but that wasn't right. His sister would never join Carmen or work for the red clad thief.

"Simple. ACME has turned me into a poison. Some poisons can be used as medicines…and ACME deserves a strong dose for what they've done." 'Ram' said her voice cold as she stared them down while Carmen stepped forward and placed a hand on the smaller womans shoulder. It seemed Jasmine was the only one to notice that this was the first time they had ever heard of Carmen touching one of her henchmen, especially during a chase.

"ACME's the good guys. If you're mad at them then it's probably because you're on the wrong side of the law." Zack said making Ram snort slightly at that.

"So naïve for one so smart. If you haven't heard this saying before…then you either die a hero…or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I was a hero for a long time, but now…I've become the villain." Ram said mockingly as she gave them a taunting smile.

"Exactly you're the villain. And it's our job to stop villains." Tatyanna said before she lunged at Ram, hoping to take the red head off guard.

"Foolish girl." Ram sneered as she easily stopped Tatyanna's lunge cold just by grabbing the blonds collar with one hand, causing the Russian to nearly jerk from the force of her own momentum being stopped suddenly.

"You missed the entire point. I became the villain for a reason. Why don't you go back to your masters with that information? About the new villain that they created." Ram said tossing Tatyanna back into Zack and Jasmine who were sent sprawling by the Russian's weight and the force with which Ram had thrown her.

"ACME stops the villains not creates them!" Zack yelled as he struggled out from underneath Tatyanna as Jasmine pushed the blond up and then helped the Russian herself.

"Sure. Go ahead and believe that. Why don't you ask your techie friend? Or how about the Chief? Or even the Head of ACME's technology or weapons departments? Ask them about their secret project." Ram said her lips pulling up into a dark cruel smile that had the three teens shivering slightly in fear.

"Ask them about what they've done to the innocent Ram to make its dull horns grow into spears. While you're at it why don't you deliver a message for me?" Ram taunted them as she stepped back closer to Carmen who wrapped an arm around the girls waist and pulled her close as they stood together at the edge of the roof.

"Looks like it's time for us to leave now my dear poison." Carmen said noting the police cars surrounding the road at the bottom of the building. Ram didn't glance at her but merely nodded her head.

"I'm glad you could join us detectives but tonight was just so that I could introduce you to my new protégé and quite literal partner in crime. You three disappoint me." Carmen said tilting her hat at them a bit but frowning and making them flinch in surprise or look shocked. She had never said she was disappointed in them before or looked so upset with them. It was if they had failed an obvious test.

Ram merely sneered out the words towards them before she and Carmen fell from the roof, Carmen activating a jet pack and easily carrying Ram to safety as well.

"Tell them that when they forged the perfect weapon then they should make sure that the God of War couldn't go against the ones that made _her_."


	8. Chapter 8

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"Ivy!" Carmen ran to the girls room when she heard a scream in the middle of the night, forgoing getting dressed in something other than her night gown as she dashed to the girls side.

"Go back to bed I'll take care of this!" Carmen ordered the ones she could see popping out of their own rooms alarmed as she raced to Ivy's door. Each of them quickly backtracked and went back to their rooms. After Ivy's reaction to seeing Sara holding a needle to draw blood for some bloodwork tests…none of them were getting anywhere near the destructive force of nature after she had a nightmare and was probably going to be on adrenaline high.

"Ivy its Carmen! I'm coming in!" Carmen announced with a loud knock on the door before she even tried to open it. Pushing open the door Carmen saw the girl sitting up in her bed staring blankly at the wall ahead of her without really seeing it.

"Hey Ivy. It's me. Do you want to talk about it?" Carmen asked her voice soft and low as she stepped into the room and gently closed the door behind her.

"No." Ivy's voice was raspy and hoarse showing that she was at least acknowledging Carmen's presence.

"That's fine. Is it okay if I sit?" Carmen asked her voice not changing as she slowly approached the bed, earning a small nod from Ivy.

"Do you think you could get back to sleep?" Carmen asked glancing at the digital clock that read 2:07 in the morning as she sat on the bed next to Ivy who didn't move a muscle.

Ivy just shook her head silently and only tensed a little bit when Carmen wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close so that Ivy's head was over her chest, her heartbeat reverberating in Ivy's ear. Ever since the first flashback and triggering Carmen had discovered by accident that the sound of a heart beating in Ivy's ear helped relax the younger woman. Honestly when she had hugged the red head to restrain her the first time, she had expected to be sent through a wall like Al had been. She hadn't expected for the broken woman to calm down at the sound of her heart beat.

"You know…when I pleaded to be taken as the experiment…when I worked so hard to do be the one taken…I never thought never realized what they would do to break me and turn me into the perfect weapon." Ivy said after a minute, her voice still raspy and hoarse and Carmen was beginning to worry that the red head had damaged her vocal cords at some point.

"You wanted to be chosen?" Carmen asked in disbelief as she stared down at the girl, recalling everything that Sara's scan had shown and revealed to have been done to her. All of those brutal tortures, those gang rapes and beatings, the broken bones and damaged muscles, the forceful removal of her entire uterus.

"It was either me or Zack. They were going to pick Zack at first, they wanted their experiment to be a male. To make them even stronger they said…I pleaded and bargained and even begged for them to take me instead. They said if I proved myself strong enough by the time I was twelve…then they'd leave Zack alone and take me in his place." Ivy said her voice quiet and making Carmen freeze at hearing that.

They had wanted to use Zack who was even younger than Ivy? Zack who would have only been ten when the experiments and beatings started?

"You threw yourself into fighting and training and mastering different martial arts so that you would be chosen in your brothers' place. You did everything to protect your brother. Suffered through all that pain and torment so that he wouldn't have to." Carmen said her voice soft and a near whisper as she stared down at Ivy in a new light. Ivy hadn't been randomly chosen for the experiment or anything like that. She hadn't applied to be tested on out of her own misplaced pride or any arrogance.

She had fought so hard and long to be chosen as the experiment in order to keep her brother from having to go through what she did. To keep her brother safe, the red head had given herself up as tribute.

"And now my brother can't even recognize me. I wasn't wearing anything more than a strip of cloth over the top of my face and a black dress…I wasn't wearing a mask or any make up…and yet he couldn't recognize me. He couldn't recognize who I really am…" Ivy had tears in her eyes at this point although she didn't let them fall as Carmen ran her fingers through the smaller womans hair.

Carmen just kept quiet and held the younger woman close all night.

 **At ACME**

"Zack it's two in the morning. Go to sleep." The Chief said as he looked at the blond who was still working furiously at the computer.

"No way Chief. Not while Carmen still has Ivy and there was something strange about that new VILE crook. The Ram of Aries she called herself. There's nothing about her anywhere in the system and yet she seemed to hate ACME so much!" Zack said without looking away from the screen as he kept typing and searching and trying to find out anything he could.

"And her talking about being a hero for so long that she became a villain! Doesn't that mean that she used to work for ACME? But nothing is coming up on anything! Not the Ram not the Aries! Nothing!" Zack was starting to get fed up with no answers and starting to really feel his sisters disappearance. If she were here they probably would have already solved this thing.

"And what was all that about you all forging a perfect weapon and some secret project stuff? She was probably just playing me but it's bugging the hell out of me because Joshua's been acting off ever since Ivy was taken and I don't think it's cause he has a crush on her!" Zack said not seeing the Chief's eyes widen at that.

"Zack! What exactly did she say?" Chief demanded making Zack glance up at him finally.

"She said 'Tell them that when they forged the perfect weapon then they should make sure that the God of War couldn't go against the ones that made her.' Those were her exact words before she and Carmen escaped." Zack said making the Chief pale slightly which was impressive since he was an AI.

"God of War? Zack…did she call herself Ares at any given time?" Chief asked looking horrified and earning a nod from Zack.

"Yeah she called herself the Ram of Aries, probably the astrological sign. But isn't Aries also the name of the God of War for the Greek myths?" Zack asked earning a slow nod from the Chief who looked upset and dismayed at this.

"Oh this is not good. The big guys aren't going to like this one bit and the R and D department are going to go nuts not to mention the Weapons division." The Chief began to panic and mutter while Zack looked confused.

"Chief what's going on? You know something about this Ram character?" Zack demanded making the Chief look at him sadly and slowly nod. He couldn't tell Zack that the Ram was his big sister, but he could tell him a few things.

"Project Ares, a top secret project that not many are supposed to know even exists. We were developing a weapon that would be sent after the most dangerous of criminals and succeed in their mission without fail. At first all the candidates for the weapon experiment was male but there was one female candidate that worked hard and became the only successful experiment. She was given the designation Ares because they never thought that the single girl out of two hundred experiments would be the only success." Chief said slowly as he looked away from Zack.

"You mean they were turning people into weapons?" Zack asked staring at the chief horrified and shocked and looking a bit betrayed.

"That's just it though. Out of all of them…the only successful one was Ares, the female. But…" Here the Chief looked straight at Zack.

"She volunteered, insisted, even _begged_ to be an experiment Zack. It was her choice." Chief said making Zack frown slightly at that as he stared at the Chief and thought over everything.

If Ares had begged to be an experiment…then why did she seem so angry about it? Something wasn't adding up here.


	9. Chapter 9

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"Why are you so mad at ACME? You asked for this!" Zack yelled at Ares two weeks later when the scarred red head was shown to be right by Carmen's side during a heist. Carmen had finally gotten ahold of the hard copy of the Project Ares files which detailed most of what they had done to Ivy, and promptly read them with Ivy's permission before handing them over to Sara.

The rest of VILE were confused at the haunted look on Carmen's face after reading those files, and then were alarmed at the loud and vivid swearing Sara let out in several different languages after she was done reading them.

No one was dumb enough to mention how Carmen had spent the last two weeks nearly glued to Ivy's hip and staying the night in the younger womans room. With Carmen there it seemed the nightmares were less frequent and none were as loud as the time when she screamed after first joining them.

"Oh so they told you that much hmm? Do you know _why_ I asked, begged, pleaded, and bargained to be used as an experiment?" Ares asked glaring darkly at her brother who backed up a step at the near animalistic look in her eyes while Carmen quickly grabbed Ares by the arm and pulled the smaller woman close.

"Do you know why I tried so hard to let them pick me? I did it for my baby brother. My clueless weak little baby brother who wouldn't know how to throw a proper punch if I didn't teach him. I had to protect him! There were 199 boys in my testing group and we were the _fourth group_ of experiments!" Ares snarled at Zack who blinked for a second and then his face blanched in horror.

"Four groups of 200 each! That's 800 experiments. Out of those 800 I was the only female! I was the only female and the only survivor! If my brother was taken for those experiments he would have died just like the other 799 boys! You're right I did ask for this and beg for it and pleaded to be allowed to be taken in his place…so that he _wouldn't die like the others_!" Ares said making Zack, Jasmine, and Li all stare at her horrified and shocked.

"I expected and agreed to the experimentation that would have probably killed me! I did _not_ expect or agree to the 'training' _after that._ Why don't you go ask them what they did to finish my so called training huh? Go ask your superiors or the guards and inmates! Go ask your little techie friend Joshua! They let him have a turn as well, after all he was such a _huge_ help in making the experiment a success the least they could do was let him have a _taste_ of what he wanted!" Ares yelled at Zack while Carmen's eyes were ice cold as she held the younger woman close.

"Go ahead! Ask them! Ask them what all they took from her because she was a female! Ask them about how they tried for two years to _recreate_ and _reproduce_ her, copy all of what she could now do onto an innocent child that would have only lived to be an experiment! Ask them about how they beat her and did worse and worse every time she didn't catch! Ask them about what they did to her when they finally had enough attempts at trying to get her…" Ares cut off then, her eyes snapping closed and her breathing ragged as she tried to calm herself. Jasmine however seemed to understand explicitly what she had kept from saying because the Jamaicans teen's eyes were wide and watering.

"Ask them about what they did to her that she could never tell anyone else about. Ask them about what they did to her that would keep her own brother from recognizing her." Ares whispered weakly and hoarsely now while Carmen had begun running her fingers through the smaller womans hair.

"Ask them about how they broke their 'toy' beyond all repairs. Ask them how they made me into a villain. How they turned me into a poison that will end up wiping ACME clean again." Ares said her voice a bit stronger now while Li looked confused.

"A poison to help?" Li asked the others earning a humorless laugh from Ares.

"I see why you never made senior detective!" Ares said with a cackle that had a shiver going down the detectives spines.

"Some poisons can be turned into medicines if applied correctly and for what they've done to her…ACME has more than the prescribed dosage coming for them." Carmen said her voice cold as she kept Ares close while staring down the detectives in front of her.

"Carmen?" Zack asked frowning slightly as he looked at the master thief who tilted her hat slightly but didn't give her usual smirk or taunting smile.

"I'm a thief for the mental gymnastics mainly…and I try to make sure no one gets hurt especially _children_ like you. I've never hurt an ACME detective on purpose or sent any of you into a dangerous situation that I hadn't put myself in. I _thought_ I was keeping you away from the cruel nastiness of most criminals if I did that." Carmen admitted as she stared the three detectives down and there was a darkness in her gaze and voice that had them backing up a step.

"I never thought that the organization that I once worked for, the one that put away so many villains…would _become worse_ than the very villains they send you to chase. I've been taking it _easy_ on you boys and girls." Carmen said her voice dropping an octave as she wrapped her arm around Ares tighter, the shorter woman pulled flush against Carmen's side in a way that had Li and Jasmine eyeing them speculatively.

"Now when you get back to ACME make sure they know the exact words about to come out of my mouth." Carmen said with her teeth almost bared at the teens.

They merely stared shocked and worried and a bit confused and lost as Carmen and Ares made their escape. Carmen's words floating to them through the silent night air.

"VILE and I personally have taken Ares in as one of our own…and we will repay all that ACME has done to her _hundred fold_."


	10. Chapter 10

**Screwed up Sandiego**

 **By: FunahoMisaki**

 **(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)**

"This is a disaster! How did our weapon get in the hands of the enemy and not destroy her?" One of the Heads of ACME, the Head of Technology, demanded as he slammed his fist on the table in front of him.

"The boy who activated her during that MMA match told her to destroy _her_ enemy, not ACME's nor did he say Carmen's name. Instead of going after Carmen, she went after Joshua the one who activated her." The head of the Academy said noting that much and glaring around the others, she detested what they had done by starting this experiment ten years ago…and she certainly hated what they had done to Ivy after she lived through the first portion of the experiment.

"This could mean that it sees him and ACME by extension as its enemies. It would also explain why the weapon seems to have sided with Carmen who has taken a much more…violent role recently." The head of Transportation said earning winces from the others. Ever since Ivy had joined with Carmen and the woman had learned what all was in the hardback files of what the ACME agency had done to turn Ivy into a successful 'Ares' the master thief's plans had suddenly stopped being so careful of casualties. Very few civilians got hurt, but ACME agents and police officers were starting to get some serious injuries. Especially any ACME agents that had been part of or knew about what had been done to Ivy, much less those who participated in it.

"Am I the only one who will acknowledge that the one you keep calling an 'it' and 'Weapon' is a _seventeen year old girl?_ " The Academy Head asked crossing her arms over her chest as she glared around the room.

"While yes I will agree that Ares is female and of a young age…from a mental standpoint she stopped being a human at the age of fourteen when she survived the last experiment. Do I think we should only refer to her as a weapon and thing as the Weapons and R&D sectors have been doing? No. That would only cause more mental deterioration faster. However thinking of her as just another girl would only cause more damage to everyone involved, mentally and emotionally." The Head of the Psychology department said nodding to the Academy Head. She could see the Headmistress's point and understood where she was coming from, she was disgusted with what they had been doing to Ivy as well…but she knew better than to let her emotions get the better of her. If her mind was clouded by emotions then she'd never be able to do her job.

"Why is she going rogue now however? What pushed her over that edge?" The Head of the Cafeteria asked looking confused and a bit alarmed, hey even ACME needed to make sure their detectives ate right. He had been brought in on the whole thing because Ivy had needed a special diet for her due to her being an experiment.

"You mean besides the obvious?" The Headmistress asked sarcastically as she glared at the Weapons Head who was grim.

"If you're going to be like this then why did you even agree to our Human Weapons Program to begin with?" The head of Research demanded as she glared at the other woman darkly and frankly fed up with the dirty looks she was getting all the time.

" _Excuse me?_ Agree to it? In case you've forgotten the only people you asked about this are the Head of Weapons, Head of Development, and the Deputy Director. The rest of us didn't have a _say in it_. I didn't agree to a _damn thing._ " The Headmistress snarled at the Research Head who didn't bat an eye and merely ran a hand through her short brown hair annoyed.

"That's because I knew a few of you would let your emotions cloud your judgement, especially with children involved. I approached those I could trust to think clearly about the matter and then we went from there." The Head of Research said unbothered and earning a frown from the Head of Psychology and Head of Cafeteria, not to mention some of the others.

"Think clearly about what? That you were going to send 799 children to their deaths just to find one child that would be a 'success'? Need I remind you that you didn't even want to accept that child into the testing to begin with because you figured a male child would have a higher success rate than a female one, and easier to reproduce the effects?" The Head of Detectives asked frowning heavily at the Research Head who shrugged slightly.

"Yes our studies of the experimental serum showed that a female was 45% more likely to die from the serum than a male, but in case you've forgotten this particular subject _volunteered and begged to be used._ " The Research Head said tapping the folder that each Head of a department had containing Ivy's picture and profile.

"BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO USE HER YOUNGER BROTHER!" The Headmistress yelled standing up angrily only for the Psychology Head and Head Doctor to pull her back down into her seat.

"Need I remind you that you and your little fuck buddies were going to take a seven year old newly orphaned boy to _die_ when his ten year old sister, the girl you keep calling a thing and weapon, begged to be used in his place to protect him? You gave her the option of being strong enough by the time she was thirteen and he was ten to be used in his place, and she learned _six_ different martial arts to _BLACK BELT_ level in order to be strong enough! She only became an experiment to _protect the only thing she had left in the world that mattered to her._ " The Headmistress snarled at the Research Head angrily, murder in her gaze, while the other woman merely stared back calmly.

"Yes I am aware of her motivation to beg for the experimentation and I was quite impressed with how she grew in leaps and bounds to be strong enough by the end of three years. It was only because of her impressing me in such a way that I decided to use her instead of her brother who is quite noticeably weaker than her." The Head Researcher said earning a wordless snarl of fury from the Headmistress.

"It was quite the surprise when her body accepted the serum when the odds were very much against her. We never believed a female could adapt to the serum given the high death rates for the males who were more likely to succeed." The head of Development said nodding his agreement.

"I still have not heard an answer as to what you have done recently that had caused her to finally have enough. Something that was done to her, besides the obvious, had caused her to say 'screw it' if you'll pardon my wording and go astray." The Head of Psychology cut in as she kept one firm hand on the Headmistress's shoulder to keep the other woman from going over the table and attack the Head of Research.

"After the attempts at reproducing her failed for the last two years…"

"Oh you mean your attempts at brutally raping her until she was pregnant and you could turn her baby into a weapon on the off chance it got the serums enhancements too?" The Head of Recruitment asked with a sneer on his face.

"In a word? Yes." The Head of Research didn't even bat an eye as she admitted that, earning another wordless snarl from the Headmistress and even the Head Doctor and Head Detective were working on trying to restrain themselves from attacking her.

"After they've all failed for the last two years, it was decided that she was already sterile or perhaps the experiment made her so. Either way in case it turned out to be false, we needed to make sure she couldn't have any child outside of our control and risk that child having her enhancements." The head of Weapons said taking over now and glaring down everyone.

"So you couldn't risk her having a baby that was like her, enhanced, without being able to brainwash and control the child to be a mindless tool." The Head of Detectives translated dryly and not amused in the slightest.

"If that's how you choose to phrase it fine." The Head of Research allowed.

"What did you do?" The Head of the Cafeteria asked his voice dark as he glared down the ones responsible with his hands clenched into fists.

"We removed her womb and ovaries so that there was no chance of pregnancy." The Head of Weapons said bluntly earning shocked horrified silence from the others, before three different Heads had to jump on the Headmistress to restrain her from going over the table and boy did she try to.

"You call her a thing and a weapon when you guys are monsters!" The Headmistress snarled and raved and cursed as she tried to get to one of the three main ones responsible.

"That thing is a monster." The Head of Technology said sneering, he forgot that he was sitting next to a man whose son had died in the experiments early stages and who had a daughter a little younger than Ivy was when she was experimented on.

He never saw the Head Detectives fist slamming into his nose from the left as an all-out brawl broke out in the room between those who agreed with the experiment and those who didn't. The Headmistress literally lunged over the table to beat the shit out of the Head Researcher while the Head Psychologist was trying to calm everyone down, as was the Head Diplomat.

None of them knew Carmen and Ivy were watching from the rafters and marking their targets.


End file.
